Population on the move: Montanans follow opportunities for education, jobs, and happiness.

• Author: Sylvester, James T.
• Position: On The Move

My grandparents moved to Montana before the Great Depression--my father's parents from Nebraska, my mother's from Virginia. They settled in Fergus and Teton counties respectively, and raised their families on farms there.

When she graduated high school, my mother left Montana for college in Colorado. My father left, too, albeit to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Both eventually ended up at what was then known as Montana State University in Missoula, where they met and married.

After college, may parents moved to southwestern Montana, first to Sheridan, later to Wise River. They raised a pair each of boys and girls, moving over the years to Grangeville, Idaho, and finally to Elko, Nev. When I graduated from high school, I also left home for school in Utah, where I married and moved to Missoula. One of my sisters went to college in Boise, Idaho, married and lived there for a few years, then moved to Sandpoint. My parents moved, too--this time to Reno, Nev. My youngest sister moved with my parents to Reno, and later came to college in Missoula, where she lives today. My brother remained in Elko for a time, before following his girlfriend to Boulder, Colo. They eventually married.

After retirement, my parents returned to Montana, to the Bitterroot Valley, where they continue to enjoy themselves. And now a new generation is starting to wander the West: My son graduated high school last year and headed to Boise for college. Who knows where he will land.

My family's mobility is not an unusual phenomenon in Montana; I offer our story, in fact, because it is the story of many families. Ours is a population on the move, following opportunities for education, jobs, and happiness into, out of, and across the state. Just think of your family. Were you born in Montana? Did you live outside Montana for any length of time? Have your children left the state for college or jobs?

At the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, we compiled migration histories for a random sample of Montanans, and found the median number of moves to be four. Most moves were triggered by high school graduation or marriage, although there were a variety of factors influencing whether an individual stayed or moved away. Limited economic opportunities prompted many moves, as did a perceived adverse social climate or the lack of basic community services. Family ties and Montana's comfortable and scenic surroundings held onto others. What residents like most about our state are its "place qualities," including its rural nature.

The BBER also conducted two major surveys over the past two years, the first a survey of northern Great Plains residents for a symposium on depopulation issues, the other an attempt...